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It’s Man Vs. Car in NYC and Tim Robbins is “The Rectifier”

Granted, I always secretly hoped that Tom Hanks would play the Aaron Naparstek role in "Honku: The Movie" but Tim Robbins' new film "Noise" is, without question, the early runner-up for Streetsblog's 2008 Movie of the Year:

Granted, I always secretly hoped that Tom Hanks would play the Aaron Naparstek role in “Honku: The Movie” but Tim Robbins’ new film “Noise“ is, without question, the early runner-up for Streetsblog’s 2008 Movie of the Year:

David (Oscar-winner and New York City resident Tim Robbins) is a successful lawyer who can’t stand
the fact that Manhattan is a place where it’s too noisy to get a good
night’s sleep, listen to classical music, or even make love to his wife
without disturbance. Every time David hears a car alarm going off, he
swings into action. Adopting the guise of “The Rectifier,” he engages
in acts of vandalism that satisfy him immensely but which generate no
end of grief from his wife (Bridget Moynahan). They also make him
politically controversial when he provokes the ire of the city’s
arrogant mayor (Oscar-winner William Hurt).

Best of all, “Noise” offers up the most concise and accurate summary of NYPD traffic enforcement policy I’ve ever seen:

“You don’t come when the car is attacking us, only when we’re attacking the car.”

— Tim Robbins to New York City police officer.

Photo of Aaron Naparstek
Aaron Naparstek is the founder and former editor-in-chief of Streetsblog. Based in Brooklyn, New York, Naparstek's journalism, advocacy and community organizing work has been instrumental in growing the bicycle network, removing motor vehicles from parks, and developing new public plazas, car-free streets and life-saving traffic-calming measures across all five boroughs. He was also one of the original cast members of the "War on Cars" podcast. You can find more of his work on his website.

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